The End of Heartache
by One Mad Hat
Summary: True love and happy endings only happened in fairytales, and Sakura had stopped believing in those a long time ago. But something's about to happen to make her change her mind. [AU, SasukeSakura]
1. Clinging To Memories

Author's Note: Yet another Naruto fic, one of many in planning. This one was a bit more insistent than the others, and once my fingers start typing I can't really stop them. Canon AU, and time travel is involved. Will contain Sasuke/Sakura, Naruto/Hinata, Shikamaru/Temari, Ino/Gaara, Neji/Tenten, Asuma/Kurenai, and probably some other side pairings I'm forgetting about. The title comes from a song by Killswitch Engage.

Disclaimer: I no own. I no make money. Pity me.

-----

Chapter 1: Clinging To Memories

_She was exhausted. They'd been running most of the night and all day just to get there, and now they were doing battle. The others in their group had split off early on, Shikamaru and Ino going to take on Karin while Chouji, Neji, and Shino took on Suigetsu and Jugo. Naruto and Sakura, of course, faced Sasuke head on. They believed that this was it. This was the time when they would finally bring him back to Konoha._

They were wrong.

The battle started off slow, but after a few minutes of feeling each other out, the three were locked in an all out war. Even if someone had been able to join in, they wouldn't have. This was something that went much farther than just a simple mission. The wounds that were inflicted were both physical and emotional, and it raged on with nary a sound. No words were exchanged between the three, only fists and jutsu and bladed weapons.

It could have went on for hours. It could have went on for days. None of them noticed the time, not until it grew almost too dark to see clearly and Sakura finally did the unthinkable. She tripped.

Right into the path of Naruto's oncoming Rasengan.

It might have been a hallucination, but she could have sworn Sasuke said 'no' right before shoving her out of the way and taking on the full brunt of the attack. In an almost obscenely delayed reaction, he stood for another moment before being blasted back.

"Sasuke!" Her voice mingled with Naruto's, both full of pain, utter anguish, as they rushed towards their fallen ex-teamate. Sakura elbowed the blond out of her way as she dropped to her knees to check the damage. It was then that she knew they wouldn't be bringing Sasuke back. Not alive, anyway.

She didn't know she was crying until she saw her tears on his face. "Sasuke, you idiot. You idiot." It was all she could say. All the pretty speeches, all the words she'd been longing to get out of her system, all of them fled her, and all she could do was cry and watch him die.

She felt Naruto behind her, his body shaking hard and the muffled sounds of sobs filling the air. Sasuke's eyes opened, and they were finally back to black, back to just normal eyes, eyes that she hadn't seen since she was twelve and he left her, left them all. She felt something on her hand and looked down to see his fingers grasping at it. Ignoring the blood that pooled on the ground beneath him from the massive chest wound the Rasengan left, she grabbed the questing hand, his fingers slick and hard to hold on to.

"It wasn't worth it."

It took her a moment to realize he was dead, and by then she could hear a high, keening wail sound out over the otherwise still forest. When her throat started feel raw, she knew it was coming from her. Naruto was tugging her away, away from the body, away from Sasuke-kun, and all she could do was cry and scream and kick at him and wish that the hurt would go away, that he would go away and Sasuke would come back and call her annoying, and that would be okay because he would be alive and there to do it and not dead on the ground, dead in this forest, dead dead dead.

-----

Scarred fingers traced the words on the monument, the ones she could have found in her sleep. _Uchiha Sasuke_. It had taken Naruto and her four months before the Hokage had consented to put it on there, and Sakura suspected that it was only because Tsunade knew that she would never get anything done with them constantly harrassing her.

It was a month after that when Naruto had left, his orange-clad form a growing speck on the horizon. Jiraiya had taken him off for more training, but the now-quiet ninja did not disagree. He blamed himself for Sasuke's death just as much as Sakura did, and neither one could stand to look at the other for too long anymore. She didn't see him again until two years later.

He always came back, he was a ninja of Konoha, after all, and was still tied to this village, just as firmly as before. Only now it was more like a chore, a necessary evil, to be done and over with as quickly as possible. He never took on missions while he was there, and he never progressed beyond the rank of genin, even long after everyone else had made jounin.

It wasn't until a year and a half ago that him and Sakura had finally sat down and talked, but even then they couldn't talk about that night. He'd professed his love for her, asked her to marry him, to quit being a ninja and run away together. She'd put him through her living room wall. He'd left the next day and didn't return for another six months.

They were broken, the both of them. She could now understand why Kakashi was the way he was, and she had enough pity left in her to extend to him. It wasn't like he talked to her anymore, anyway. He'd taken Sasuke's death just as hard as his two former students, and he had the added benefit of no guilt on being the one to have done the deed.

Now here she was, ten years to the day since Sasuke had left the village, standing before his name (and not him, not ever him, she couldn't go to his grave because he would pull her right under to lay there with him, and she wouldn't protest at all), and thinking about the past. There was no more future, not for her, and not for Naruto.

"He wouldn't have wanted you to be like this."

If she cared more, she would have hit him for that. As it was, she sent a mild glare at the blond ninja. Somehow she knew that he would be here today. "You're one to talk."

"I tried to move on, if you remember." She didn't really want to, and hated him for bringing it up.

"No, you tried to run away. I guess we've both done that, though. Every day since- since then." She let her hand drop back to her side, turning to fully face him. "Why are you here, Naruto?"

He looked at her, eyes sad and longing for something that she couldn't give. "To make things right."

She snorted. It sounded bitter. "It's too late for that."

Naruto looked down, stuffing his hands in his pockets and fiddling with something. "It- it might not be. What if..." His head snapped up to look at her, and she took a half-step back before realizing it. "What if you could go back? Make things right? Would you?"

She stared at him, incredulous. Of all the things to ask... "Of course I would, you idiot! Don't you think I've thought about that, every day? Don't you think that I wish I _could_ go back, change things, make him stay?" Her hands tightened into fists. "Don't you think at all?"

He fidgeted, then pulled out of a scrap of paper. It looked old and had rust-colored stains on it. Most likely blood. Hesitating for a moment, his expression grew firm, but there was still a lingering sadness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Sakura-chan. I'm sorry for everything. I'm going to make things right now, though. I'll fulfill that promise I made all those years ago." He brought one hand up to his mouth, biting his thumb, then let it hover over the paper.

She reached out to him, looking concerned. "Naruto, what are you-" She didn't notice the blood from her hand, caused by her nails biting into the flesh of her palm, drip onto the paper. She did notice Naruto's surprised gaze, and his screaming.

"No! Sakura, it was supposed to be me! _Sakura!_"

But Sakura couldn't hear him anymore. Everything went white, then dark, and twenty-two year old Sakura Haruno knew no more.

-----

She was woke up by a loud knocking. _Who the hell could that be?_ No one ever visited Sakura besides Ino, and even she had slacked off as the years went on and the pink-haired girl had become more and more unresponsive.

The knock repeated itself, louder this time, and she shot up into a sitting position. "What?!"

The knocker paused. "Don't take that tone with me, young lady. Now get up and get dressed, or you're going to be late for your first day."

She looked at the door in shock. That was definitely her mother's voice. _But mom's been dead for over a year._

Scrambling out of bed so fast she nearly tripped herself in her covers, Sakura ran into the bathroom and stared at herself in the mirror.

Her twelve year old self stared back.

-----

It was only through a miracle that Sakura not only managed to _not_ faint, but to get ready ("Ugh, why did I ever _wear_ this get-up?") and leave the house without crying all over her mother. She was a minute late to the school, but no one noticed, not even Naruto. She took a seat in the back, the shock slowly wearing off.

_I'm twelve. I'm twelve, and I just started as a ninja. Today we'll get our team assignments._

At the thought of 'team', her eyes moved over the assembled genin before resting on two distinct heads. One with black hair, one with blond. _Naruto and Sasuke._ She could barely stop the tears this time, and it was only through pinching her arm that she didn't break down sobbing. They looked so _young_. So far removed from how she'd last seen them.

_Sasuke, beautiful as ever, sharingan gone and a hole through his stomach as he lay dying..._

_Naruto, older and sadder, and she wished she could have returned his feelings, but her heart had died six years before..._

She stood up before she knew what she was doing and went down to their row. "Hey, Naruto."

He looked up at her, blushing, and she smiled a little. Definitely the Naruto of ten years ago. "Sakura-chan!"

"Can I sit next to you?" He looked stunned at that, and scooted over a little so she could sit next to the aisle. It was a good thing, she wasn't sure she could handle even _looking_ at Sasuke right now, never mind sitting next to him. "Thanks, I appreciate it. I didn't want to sit back there all by myself." She wasn't sure why she was talking to him like this. Maybe she had missed being able to do it. After he came back the first time, when they were fifteen and not broken yet, she'd realized how much she'd missed him, and had immediately latched on to his friendship, that bond of the original Team Seven that no one could replace. "So, are you nervous?"

"I- I, uh..." He looked nervous, but she had a sneaking suspicion it wasn't because of the team assignments. It made her a bit sad. _I love you Naruto, but not like that._ She would have to deal with his crush for now, and try to dissolve it as gently as she could. Perhaps redirect it. She knew Hinata had been in love with Naruto when they were younger, maybe she could try to play a bit of matchmaker. Naruto deserved all the happiness in the world. All the happiness that she just couldn't give him. "N-no, not really..."

Iruka-sensei came in then and started explaining things. Sakura frowned a little. It felt like something was off. Something was supposed to have happened and didn't. She looked at the two boys beside her. _Oh yeah! Sasuke and Naruto kissed on accident._ She remembered how angry she'd been at the time. _It didn't happen this time, though. Am I already changing history?_

He started reading off the list of teams, and she stiffled a laugh at Naruto's reaction at being placed on a team with Sasuke. She almost snuck a look at the dark-haired boy, but restrained herself. She was just barely getting her emotions under control right now. She had to be absolutely fine when they met with Kakashi-sensei later. He would be able to detect anything out of the ordinary, and she didn't want to tell him about this. At least, not quite yet. The past six years of his silent coldness had placed a black mark on their relationship, and she would have to build trust with him from scratch before she would be able to open up to him again.

She tuned in to her teacher soon enough to hear the tail end of his speech. Once it was over and they broke for lunch, she turned to Naruto. "Do you want to eat together?" Her heart almost broke at the expression on his face at those words. _Was he really so starved for attention? Did everyone ignore him that much?_ She knew the reason why - the demon that he held inside him. She promised herself she would make sure he knew he was wanted around this time.

"Yeah!" They stood, but Sakura hesitated before leaving.

"Give me a second, okay?" Without waiting for a response, she went over to one of the few people left in the room. The white-eyed Hyuuga heir, Hinata. She was by herself, and Sakura found this a little odd. Still, Hinata had always been quiet, so she supposed that she just hadn't come out of her shell enough to have friends yet. The team assignments would change that. "Hey, Hin- ah, Hyuuga-san? Do you want to eat with us?"

The girl looked startled, then shot a look over at Naruto, a blush stealing over her cheeks before turning back to Sakura. "I- I w-would-"

Not letting her finish her statement (Sakura had decided that the girl _was_ going to interact with them, whether she liked it or not), she grabbed the other girl's hand, dragging her towards the door. "I knew you would! We're going to the nearby park. It'll be nice to sit outside."

Ignoring the odd look Naruto shot at her, she led the two younger genin out to the park. They spread out on the grass, and Sakura was about to reach for her lunch before remembering that she hadn't grabbed it during her hasty departure this morning. "Oh, no..."

Hinata looked at Sakura, then down at her lunch. "You c-can share m-mine, H-Haruno-san..."

Sakura shot the girl a bright smile of thanks, scooting over to sit closer to her. "Thanks, Hinata-chan." The girl looked surprised, but pleased, at that, and Sakura berated herself for being so familiar with her. _Have to remember that I don't have quite the same relationships with these people that I did before._ Her hardest loss would probably be Ino. It had taken years for her to build their friendship up again after Sasuke, and once he was dead Ino was the only one who'd stood beside her, even if she had faded with time. Sakura hadn't blamed her.

They ate and talked, though it was mostly her and Naruto, and Hinata whenever she prodded her. She could tell both of them had their problems; Hinata was extremely shy around Naruto, and Naruto still saw Hinata as the weird, quiet Hyuuga girl. It would take a lot of work, but she knew she could do it. She would. Hinata would make Naruto happy. Plus, it was easier to focus on that than her own problems.

Towards the end of the meal, Naruto suddenly looked pained. Making some half-hearted excuses, he took off, clutching his stomach. Sakura was suspicious. _That's impossible. That's just what Sasuke did when- Oh my god, it was Naruto using a henge!_ She found she couldn't be mad at her teammate, though. _At least now I know why he was asking about Naruto._

When he returned the three of them headed back to the classroom. They met up with Sasuke along the way, but he was silent on the way back, which Sakura was thankful for. He kept shooting her odd looks, though, which was a bit disconcerting. _Probably because I'm not hanging all over him, like I usually would be._ She'd have to get over this, and fast, or someone would definitely notice _something_ was up.

They reached the academy, and everyone split up into their teams, leaving with their jounin sensei. Sakura waved to Hinata when she left with Kiba and Shino, and was heartened when the shy girl waved back. Soon, her, Naruto, and Sasuke were the only ones left in the classroom. _Just like last time. At least some things will never change. The sky will always be blue, the grass will always be green, and Kakashi-sensei will always, always be late._

After a while of waiting, Naruto set his 'trap' for Kakashi-sensei. Sakura didn't try to stop him this time, just laughed behind her hand when Sasuke remarked that no jounin would fall for that. The statement was soon disproven by a _thwack_ as Kakashi-sensei stepped through the door and got hit on the head by the eraser. She allowed herself to laugh along with Naruto. Even knowing what she did about the man, it _was_ kind of silly for him to get hit by an eraser.

"Hm... How can I say this? My first impression is... I don't like you guys." Sakura restrained a sigh, while Kakashi-sensei looked smug.

_Another bad first impression? Check._

-----

"Okay, let's begin with some introductions."

They'd moved up to the roof. Sakura could barely remember a time when Konoha was this... bright. No clouds of gloom hung in the sky, the people were moving about their business freely down below. There was no threat of attack from first Orochimaru, then Sasuke, then Akatsuki. It was simple. Peaceful. She hoped it would stay like this forever.

If she had any say in it, it would.

At the lingering silence, she realized she was the one who had to speak first. "What do you want to know?"

Kakashi-sensei shrugged. "How about... your likes, dislikes... dreams for the future, hobbies, stuff like that."

"Hey, why don't you introduce yourself to us first?!" Good old reliable Naruto.

Kakashi looked slightly put-out. Well, he didn't look _anything_, but Sakura had gotten to know his facial expressions from his lone visible eye over the years. "Oh, me? My name is Hatake Kakashi. I have no desire to tell you guys about my likes and dislikes." Sakura snorted, then covered it with a cough. He looked at her oddly before continuing. "Where was I? Oh yeah. Dreams for the future... hm. Well, I have lots of hobbies..." _Yeah, like reading those filthy porn books and mourning over your lost teammates._ She shot a look at Sasuke and felt that last part was a bit uncharitable.

Naruto cut in. "We just learned your name! That ain't fair!"

Kakashi-sensei ignored him. "It's your turn. From the right."

The blond straightened a bit. "Me, me! My name is Uzumaki Naruto! I like cup ramen!" Sakura let her head drop into her hands with a sigh. She caught a glimpse of a smirk on Sasuke's face from the corner of her eye. "What I like even more is the ramen at Ichiraku, especially when Iruka-sensei buys it! What I dislike is waiting three minutes for cup ramen to cook! My dream..." Here he paused, and Sakura leaned forward slightly. "Is to become Hokage, and have everyone acknowledge my existence!" Sakura smiled at that. _I'll help you make that dream come true if I can, Naruto._ "My hobbies... pranks, I guess."

"Next."

_Oh no. No no no. Here it comes._ Sasuke was next. Sakura tried not to pay attention to his words, but couldn't help but hear every one.

"My name is Uchiha Sasuke. There are tons of things I dislike, but I don't really like anything. And... I don't want to use the word 'dream', but... I have an ambition. The ressurection of my clan, and... to kill a certain man."

In her original time (and it was odd, how it was getting easier to seperate the two), he'd only achieved the second goal. It seemed he'd forgotten all about the first, and as a result, the Uchiha clan had died with him, leaving Kakashi-sensei the last living user of the sharingan.

_It wasn't worth it._

Even now, his last words haunted her. What had he meant? Fighting them? Leaving Konoha? Joining Orochimaru? Killing Itachi? Had he been thinking about starting a family, regretting the path he'd chosen because it had never allowed that? She would never know, and hopefully, would never have to find out. She wouldn't let it get to that point, not again.

She knew Naruto was shocked, but she could see the knowing look on Kakashi-sensei's face. _Of course he knows. He's not some naive kid. He knows the horrors that Itachi wrought. I wonder if he had a hint of the extent Sasuke would go to for revenge, though?_

"Okay, lastly, the girl."

That snapped Sakura out of her thoughts, and she struggled for a moment to answer, panic setting in. _What should I say? I can't answer like I did last time, I just can't._

"I- um, I'm Haruno Sakura. I like... uh, being helpful, and being with my friends, and I dislike-" _death_ "pain." She let out a breath, forcing herself to relax. "My dreams for the future are... to make this world a better place, and to help my team achieve their dreams." She ignored the stunned looks from Kakashi-sensei and Naruto, and the slightly calculating one from Sasuke. "My hobby is reading."

There was silence for a few moments before Kakashi-sensei continued. Sakura used the time to pull herself together. "Okay! That's enough of that. We will start our duties tomorrow."

The sinking feeling in Sakura's stomach was only compounded by Naruto's outburst. "Alright! What kinds of duties?"

"First, we are going to do something with just the four of us."

"What, what?!"

"Survival training." She swore he looked as if he wanted to fail all three of them right then and there. _We were probably a hassle to him, weren't we? Well, he'll definitely be surprised tomorrow. I'll show him how much teamwork this team is capable of!_ "I'll be your opponent."

"What kind of survival training?" she cut in, not allowing him the time to gloat. He looked a little disgruntled, but replied.

"Of the twenty-seven graduates, only nine will be chosen as genin. The rest will be sent back to the academy. This training is a super difficult exam with a failure rate of over 66!"

There was a few seconds of silence, then - "WHAT THE HELL?! But we worked so hard! Then what was the point of-"

Sakura cut him off, standing up, a determined look on her face. "Don't worry, sensei. We won't fail. You won't get rid of us that easy." She smiled down at the two boys. "Right, guys?"

Naruto looked up at her, a wide grin on his face. Even Sasuke looked a little proud of her, a slight blush on his cheeks. _Aw, that's so cute! Ugh, wait up there girl, he's twelve. So are you. No fawning over the child._ "Right, Sakura-chan!" He stood up as well, pointing at Kakashi-sensei. "Hell yeah! Bring it on old man! Whatever you throw at us, we'll beat you!" Sakura was suffused with happiness - real, true happiness - for the first time in over six years. She felt Sasuke rise next to her, and they stood as one unit, for the first time. Naruto clenched his fist, pumping it into the air. "Together, we can do anything!"

Kakashi-sensei looked a little stunned, and Sakura smirked, smug. "Ah, well, be that as it may... Bring all your shinobi tools. And don't eat breakfast, you'll throw up." He brought some papers out of his vest, handing them to the three genin. "The details can be read on this print out. Don't be late tomorrow."

He took off. Sakura looked down at the sheet, then at her teammates. Sasuke was studying it intently, while Naruto looked a little lost. "Uh... don't listen to what he says." They both looked up at her, making her blush. "About the breakfast thing." She got blank stares for her trouble. She sighed. "Look, he's supposed to be our opponent. Our enemy, right?" They nodded. "Would you listen to an enemy shinobi if he told you to not eat before fighting him?" Sasuke looked as if he was catching on to her reasoning, but Naruto was still confused. "If you don't eat, that makes you a weaker opponent. He can beat you easier. Got it?" Naruto finally grinned, nodding his head. She made a face. "Just... don't eat whatever it was that caused you to get sick today." He looked embarrassed, and glared at Sasuke when he smirked. Sakura felt like banging her head against the tree behind her.

"Just... be prepared for anything tomorrow, okay? We can work out a strategy when we get to the meeting place." She waved goodbye to them, then took off as well.

She had a lot of work to do before tomorrow, and not much time to do it in.


	2. A Test of Willpower

Author's Note: Yet another Naruto fic, one of many in planning. This one was a bit more insistent than the others, and once my fingers start typing I can't really stop them. Canon AU, and time travel is involved. Will contain Sasuke/Sakura, Naruto/Hinata, Shikamaru/Temari, Ino/Gaara, Neji/Tenten, Asuma/Kurenai, and probably some other side pairings I'm forgetting about. The title comes from a song by Killswitch Engage.

Disclaimer: I no own. I no make money. Pity me.

-----

Chapter 2: A Test of Willpower

Sakura ran along the streets of Konoha, weaving in and out of people and buildings. The first thing on her agenda was to get her hair cut.

Before her first chunin exam, she would have died before cutting her hair willingly. After all, she was doing it for Sasuke, and he took prescedence over practicality. Now, though, if she wanted to be what she knew she would become in the future, a proper ninja, she had to get it cut. Even just dodging in between the crowds was time consuming as the wind whipped her hair this way and that, attempting to blind her at every turn.

She ducked into a salon she would come to in the future to get this task done and asked them to chop it short. Fifteen minutes later, she had spent the meager amount of money she had on her, but her hair was back to the length she was used to. She was broke now, though, and new clothes for training would have to wait.

Walking out of the shop, she saw a flash of platinum hair pass. She was about to wave, to call out, but stopped short. Ino wouldn't greet her kindly; no, the best Sakura could hope for right now was a bare minimum of tolerance, coupled with insults and threats. It made her sad, to remember how they were at this age, and she realized she missed Ino terribly.

Feeling the tears she'd been holding back all day come full force, she ducked into an empty alley, crouching down and sobbing her eyes out. She cried for Ino, for herself, for Sasuke and Naruto and Hinata and Kakashi and all their friends. Mostly, she cried for her lost future. Even though it had been horrible, it had been familiar, and she knew she was never going to get back there. All those relationships she'd cultivated over the years, even if she had been letting them deteriorate, all of them were gone, lost to time, and it would take a long while before she would have them back. She felt utterly alone at this moment, and so she cried until she couldn't anymore. Then she stood up, wiped her eyes, and nodded her head. _Right, enough of that. Time enough later for more pity parties. I have a future to change._

Her next stop, and her last before home, as it was getting dark, was one of the training fields. She had to test herself before tomorrow, to see what she was still capable of. She had no delusions about her performance at the academy. Despite grades that were above Sasuke's, she had done horrible on every portion of the physical stuff besides chakra control. Even in the future, her taijutsu was, at best, mediocre, and she'd relied mostly on her chakra-born brute strength to get by.

She found a boulder and set to work. Going through a basic set of moves, she couldn't believe how out of shape she was, at least compared to the rest of her peers. _Was I really this bad? Fighting hand to hand was never my strength, but I've got to start getting better at it, build my endurance back up. Otherwise I'll be as weak and helpless as I was back when I first was this age._

Resolving to do something about her stamina, she next went through her medical jutsu. Cutting herself on the arm with a kunai, she found that she could heal it, but it drained more of her chakra than she liked. _My reserves are just lower than I'm used to. The stamina training should help with that. I'll just have to hope no one gets seriously injured._ Producing a chakra scalpel was more of a chore, and it flickered for a few moments before fading completely. She just didn't have the amount of chakra required for such a taxing move.

Finally, her strength. The boulder in front of her sat there, as if mocking her. Creating a fist with her hand, she pulled her arm back, pushing chakra into her knuckles and fingers. Swinging, she released it as her hand hit the boulder. One single, hairline crack decorated the surface. She waited to see if it would explode into dust, then gave it a frustrated kick. _Well, that's a no go._

Utterly disappointed with herself, and vowing to work harder at her training this time around, she headed home. It was going to be a long day tomorrow.

-----

She got up early the next morning, feeling refreshed and a little bit better about her situation. As long as she didn't sink into hopeless depression and despair, she would be fine. She could - no, she _would_ do this.

Getting ready, Sakura paused before putting her forehead protector on. In a sudden move, she placed it in its proper spot, then looked in the mirror, satisfied with the results. _Sorry Ino, but I have to take this a bit more seriously this time._ After eating breakfast and saying goodbye to her parents, she headed to the training field.

She thought she would be the first one there, but it seemed that Sasuke had beaten her, once again. She stopped cold at his presence, then went to sit down a little ways away from him. "Ah... good morning, Sasuke... kun." She tried to look cheerful and adoring, but it was difficult. Fortunately, twelve year old Sasuke was not quite as shrewd as his older counterpart, and chose to ignore her. Sakura was grateful for his silence.

A few minutes passed, and she snuck several glances over at him. She thought about his motives for leaving the village, and her inability to stop him. She had eventually come to the conclusion that it was because he felt there was nothing in Konoha that could help him get stronger, or at least not as strong as Orochimaru was offering. Looking at it objectively, Sakura could see why. His team was a mess, to put it bluntly. Despite the fact that they'd formed a bond just as close as any of the other rookie teams, if not closer, the fact remained that she had still been a weak little girl, Naruto an ever constant annoyance, and Kakashi-sensei had only ever been half-hearted about teaching in the first place. He was an excellent ninja, and she knew he'd lay his life on the line for any of them, had done so before, but he still wasn't a very good teacher. His tempermant wasn't suited to it, nor was his attention span.

His problem, and Naruto's, were things that she would have to work on, but she knew she could deal with her own right now. "Eh, Sasuke-kun..." She let out a sigh when he glared over at her. "I'm sorry but... I'm going to have to stop chasing after you." He looked shocked, and a little pleased, and she tried to ignore how bad that hurt. _He's still just a kid. Just a kid._ "For us to be an effecient team, we're going to have to work together." She thought about Naruto. "_All_ of us. Otherwise, we'll never get any stronger. And I said I wanted to help you two fulfill your goals, so... I guess I'd better start on that now." He hesitated for a moment, dark eyes holding that same calculating look from yesterday, but eventually he nodded. She felt a bit of relief at that. She figured he was still suspicious of her motives, but that was something only time could fix. _And I have plenty of that now, don't I?_

A few more minutes of silence passed, then he suddenly spoke up, startling her badly. "You cut your hair."

"Huh?" She was confused for a moment, then touched the short pink strands, smiling a little. "Oh, yeah. It was getting in the way."

He stared at her for a few seconds longer. She resisted the urge to squirm under that piercing gaze. "...It looks better like that."

Sakura had to stop her jaw from dropping open. That was as good as him saying 'I like it'. Maybe there was some hope left for them. _And maybe pigs will fly._ Holding back a snort as a mental image of Ino with a pig's snout and wings flew around her mind, she watched as Naruto ran up, stopping and panting a bit when he'd reached them. He caught his breath in no time, and smiled brightly at her, completely ignoring Sasuke. _And yet something else I have to fix crops up._

"Morning, Sakura-chan!"

She smiled at him "Good morning, Naruto. I'm glad you're here, we can finally start planning our strategy."

Both boys looked confused at this, though the blond one was the one to speak up. "Eh? Planning for what?"

She restrained the urge to roll her eyes. "Kakashi-sensei said he was going to be our opponent, remember? Which means we're going to be fighting him. The most important thing is that we work as a team."

Sasuke interupted her. "No mere genin can take down a jounin, not even one as inept as ours."

Sakura reminded herself that she needed patience with these two. They were still young, they hadn't experienced everything she had. "Even a team of genin can beat a jounin. That's why they put us on teams in the first place. We're supposed to compliment each other. Like..." She thought for a moment. "Shikamaru, Chouji, and Ino. Their abilities all work together. Where Ino is weak, Chouji is strong. Where Chouji isn't the brightest, Shikamaru thinks. And where Shikamaru is more passive, Ino is aggressive." They seemed to understand, so she pressed on. "With us, I'm physically weak, but I'm smart. Naruto is strong and has a lot of stamina, but he's not the best with thinking or controlling his chakra. And Sasuke-kun has elements of both, but he's better with ninjutsu and taijutsu while not being as strong in tactics or having the sheer amount of chakra that Naruto has. If we were by ourselves, we would lose. Together, we stand a chance. We can support each other, make up for things that the other two lack."

They were all quiet for a moment, but Naruto couldn't stay silent for long. "Wow, you're really smart, Sakura-chan!" He glanced over at Sasuke like the boy was a viper who was getting ready to strike. "I suppose I can work with the bastard, if it helps us beat Kakashi-sensei."

The dark-haired boy snorted. "Just don't make me carry you the whole way, dead last." His eyes flickered towards Sakura. "You're right. If we're going to beat him, we have to work together." It seemed a struggle for him to say it, and Sakura remembered how independent he'd always been. She graced him with a soft smile.

"Good." Clearing her throat a bit, she looked up at the sky. She figured they still had a few hours until Kakashi arrived. She gestured for her two teammates to come and sit closer to her. Once they were all together, heads bent forward, Sakura started in on her plan. "All right, here's how it will go. I heard from some other ninja that the test all genin teams go through involves taking something off their instructor. Now, we aren't as fast as Kakashi-sensei is, so I was thinking..."

-----

The sun was high and it was nearing noon by the time Kakashi-sensei showed up. He waved a little in greeting. "Hey guys, what's up?"

Sakura allowed herself to shout "YOU'RE LATE!" along with Naruto, suddenly feeling as young as she was supposed to be, for the first time since she'd got here. The silver-haired jounin laughed a little, mumbling some excuse about the road of life. He then pulled out a clock, setting it down on a stump and turning on the alarm.

"Okay, it's set for noon." Next, he pulled out two bells. "Here are two bells. Your task is to take these from me before noon. Those who cannot get a bell by noon, get no lunch. I'll not only tie you to one of those stumps, but I'll eat right in front of you." Sasuke and Naruto looked over at her, grinning slightly She figured they'd taken her advice and had eaten breakfast this morning. At least Naruto wouldn't be getting distracted by hunger pains. Kakashi-sensei continued, "You only need to get one bell. There are only two, so one of you will definitely be tied to a stump. And... the person who doesn't take a bell fails. So, at least one of you will be sent back to the academy."

Naruto looked worried at this, and Sasuke looked determined. Sakura was still calm, though she allowed a bit of fake surprise to show on her face. She tuned back into Kakashi-sensei as he kept talking. "You can even use your shuriken. You won't succeed unless you come at me intending to kill." He paused for a moment, but neither Sakura nor Naruto had an outburst this time. He finished up. "Well, anyway, you'd better take this seriously. It's your future on the lines, after all." Sighing, he placed the two bells on his hip. "Okay, let's get going. Ready..."

All three tensed, going over the plan in their minds and changing it a bit to fit the situation. Except for Sakura, that is, who had known what was going to happen from the get-go.

"Start!" The three genin disappeared.

They reappeared quite a ways away. They'd decided to risk being together at the very start of the battle, to iron out any kinks in their tenative plan. Naruto spoke first.

"Can you believe it?! He said one of us is going to fail!"

Sakura placed a gentle hand on his arm, calming him down some. "It's okay. If it- If it comes down to it, I'll let you two have the bells, and I'll go back. I can always try again next year, yeah?"

Naruto looked as if he was going to protest, but it was, surprisingly, Sasuke that talked. "No. We're in this together, remember? A team. Without one, the others will fail." She winced a bit as he threw her words back at her. _Oh, if only you knew how true that was, Sasuke..._

The blond nodded in agreement. "Right. We'll stick with the plan, get the bells, and then force him to take us all." Sakura nodded hesitantly. She hadn't seen Naruto like this in a long time.

"Remember, no matter what happens, we work together. No teammate gets left behind." Feeling secure in their plan once again, the three took off and began their seperate duties.

As Naruto not only had the most chakra out of them, but could also do the kage bunshin, Sakura had directed him to be the one to take on Kakashi-sensei first. She watched from her vantage point as he attempted to hit the jounin, failing spectacularly, even when he pulled out his little orange book. _Once a pervert, always a pervert._

This time, though, Naruto didn't get caught by the 1000 years of pain technique. Instead, he backed off a bit after his last failed blow, creating eight kage bunshin. The formed a semi-circle around Kakashi. As one, they attacked, and he was driven back a bit. It still wasn't enough, though, and Naruto created ten more, who then joined the fight. Finally, they pressed Kakashi-sensei into the edge of the woods. He destroyed the last Naruto as his feet hit the tree line. There was something else there, though, and Sakura enjoyed his look of shock for a moment before there was a loud bang and a bright flash of light. She'd been prepared for it, but Naruto hadn't, and he looked a bit dazed. Kakashi, who had been only stunned by the exploding tag for a second, took advantage of this and dove towards Naruto. Just as he was about to hit him, he was forced back again by a large stream of fire. Looking for the source, he found Sasuke, sitting up in a nearby tree. The genin smirked before sending another stream of fire at him. Kakashi-sensei jumped back.

"Ah ah ah. Sasuke-kun, I'm shocked. Using the same trick twice. That's a bit amateurish of y-" He was stopped cold as he tripped another wire. This one, however, let loose a stream of kunai and shuriken. All of them hit dead on. Naruto and Sasuke watched in shock as Kakashi-sensei was seemingly hit - then disappeared, to be replaced by a log. Sakura was already on the look out for him. While Naruto and Sasuke went back to their hiding spots to begin the second part of the plan, Sakura managed to track down the elusive jounin. She'd made a bit too much noise, though, and he spoke. "Sakura, behind you."

She didn't look, though, throwing her fist back instead. It met with air, and she turned, searching him out. He was a few steps behind her, and as his eye met hers she knew what was going to happen. The world went hazy, and he disappeared. _It's just that stupid genjutsu again. I've got to let him get away, though, or the second half of the plan won't work._ She ignored the pleading from the fake-Sasuke, who by now had found her, and pressed her hands into a seal. "Kai!"

The genjutsu faded around her, and she ran back to her spot. Meanwhile, Sasuke was facing off against Kakashi-sensei again. It looked as if they were pretty evenly matched, but Sakura knew different. Still, Sasuke was holding his own, and that was what he had to do. Suddenly, Naruto jumped out, joining in the fight. _Second piece in place._ The two boys got in each other's way a times, but they just weren't used to fighting together. It would go away after they'd trained together some.

Settling herself on a branch, she waited for the opportune moment, then provided cover with a hail of shuriken. Her aim was off, but it forced Kakashi-sensei back, as now he had to dodge not only the two genin, but wildly thrown bits of metal as well. This continued for a few more minutes until the alarm rang. All four stopped. Kakashi-sensei looked smug.

"All right, you three. Back to the clearing."

Sakura jumped down, joining the two boys, and they made their way back to the stumps where the alarm clock was.

-----

They stood as a united front against him as their jounin sensei paced back and forth. "Well, there's no need for you guys to go back to the Academy." Naruto looked elated at this, Sasuke accomplished, but Sakura kept her cool. "All three of you should quit as ninja."

There was a long silence, then "WHAAAAAAT?!" pierced the air. Naruto pointed a trembling finger at the older man. "You- You-!"

Sakura figured it was time, and so stepped forward, putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked over at her, anger fading into sadness and confusion. "Sakura-chan, I- Even though we followed your plan, it still wasn't-"

Kakashi-sensei stopped him there. "Wait, you three were following a plan?"

Sasuke spoke up. "Yeah. Sakura made it, and dead last and I contributed our part. She was so adamant we work as a team." He smirked a bit. "I finally see why. We almost took you down. If we'd had more time..."

The jounin shook his head. "Be that as it may, you still failed. None of you got a bell."

It was Sakura's turn to interupt. Holding up a hand, she watched with satisfaction as the three males stared at her in shock. Or, more accurately, the dangling bells she was holding. "I beg to differ, Kakashi-sensei."

"What- how-" For once, the taller man was at a loss for words.

Sakura tossed the bells to her teammates, one each. "That first exploding tag you triggered. I used kawarimi to replace myself with the log I'd placed next to it and grabbed them while you were distracted. After that, it was just a matter of waiting."

He looked a bit sheepish, as if he was finally cottoning on to how good his students really were. "Eh he he... Well, then I guess there's only one thing to do." He stopped and blinked in surprise as he was hit in the chest with one of the bells. An empty handed Naruto glared at him. Sasuke sighed, then followed suit, tossing his bell at Kakashi-sensei's feet.

"It's either all of us or none of us, old man! And you'd better pass us, or we'll go right back to kicking your ass!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "What the idiot here is trying to say, it doesn't matter who has the bells. We did this as a team. We couldn't have completed the mission without all of us. So, whether or not we pass or fail, we'll do it as a team."

Kakashi-sensei cleared his throat, and Sakura tried not to die of embarrassment, while at the same time being so proud of her boys that she could burst. "What I was about to say is, there's only one thing to do. You all... pass." All three let out sighs of relief. Sakura felt as if a weight had been lifted from her chest. _That was a dirty trick, Kakashi-sensei, pausing like that._ "Starting tomorrow, team seven will begin its duties."

Kakashi-sensei gathered his belongings, and all four headed out, away from the training area and back into the town. Sakura had started to mentally prepare herself for all the menial chores they'd be doing in the coming days. At least until...

_Tazuna. Zabuza. Haku. Our first real mission, and the one that was the turning point in our lives. After that, nothing was the same._ This time, though, she would try to prevent needless deaths, if she could. Both Zabuza and Haku, though missing nin, hadn't been all that bad. They'd been played by the man who'd hired them. Neither had deserved the fate they got.

She was jarred out of her musings when Kakashi-sensei broke off from the group, waving goodbye. Naruto's stomach chose that moment to growl, and he blushed and laughed. Sakura grinned. "Want to get something to eat? We can go to Ichiraku." He looked elated, but his face fell and she hastened to add, "My treat." He nodded, looking cheerful again. She turned to the dark-haired boy beside her. "How about you, Sasuke-kun?" She didn't figure he would accept, but she had to ask.

He surprised her, though, by nodding a little, and... was that a blush on his cheeks? "Yeah, whatever. Just don't get any ideas and think this is a date or something."

Sakura laughed, stepping ahead of the two and making her way to the familiar ramen stand. "What a dirty mind, Sasuke-kun! After all, if it's a date, and there's three of us, then that means you and Naruto would also be on a date." The two boys shot each other disgusted looks before hurrying to catch up with their teammate.

She knew there were dark days ahead, but as she walked side-by-side with her two most important people, Sakura could finally see the light at the end.


End file.
